Naming Wells

By Scott Wetzel

“He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, ‘Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.’”  Genesis 26:22 (NIV)

A lot of people think I’m rebellious.  I have permanent skin art.  I love the rock n roll music.  I have a beard.  I go to hockey games just to watch players throw down.  People have an expectation that I’m confrontational. 

I’m not in the least.

I hate confrontation.

Confrontation makes me nervous.

I know a lot of aspects of my personality and outward appearance may lead people to believe that conflict is a part of my nature but the truth be known, I’d rather leave than fight most of the time.  But I’ll also stay where God wants me and a lot of times that creates an atmosphere of hurt, confusion, and frankly, frustration.  So when I get pushed into a corner I generally don’t back down.

So, here is Isaac in the land in which God told him to live.  Everywhere he goes he’s met with conflict.  He digs a well and people start a fight.  He names that well “Esek” which means “dispute”.  He didn’t retreat and he didn’t fight, he just dug another well. The people of that country come out swinging again.  So he names that well “Sitnah”, which means “opposition".  But he knows that God has placed him in this land for a purpose. 

A purpose to flourish.

You can’t flourish without water.

Again, he doesn’t retreat and he doesn’t fight, he just digs another well.  No one argues this time.  This is the exact spot that God wants him.  This is where he will begin his purpose.  He names the well “Rehoboth” which means "room".  Now he’s got the space to grow.

Isaac didn’t leave where God had put him just because he’d been met with arguments.  He didn’t walk away from the plan that God had laid out for him simply because people didn’t understand what it was that he was doing there.  Instead he kept trying.  He’d name that well and say “I’m not going back there right now because my energy is best spent finding the spot God wants me in.”

This happens so much in the church.  We are in a church family and things get uncomfortable.  We have God ideas that other people don’t understand so we walk away from the family trying to seek a land where there is no conflict.  Truth be told, there will always be conflict.  I believe that we get called to other places but I also believe we move away from the spot that God has specifically called us to way more often than we should.  When the going gets tough we let our entitlement attitude kick in and we leave.  Instead, focus on WHY God has you there.  Don’t give up trying, just give up pushing for a well that you can’t have right now. 

Don’t retreat, don’t fight, just dig another well and name it “room”. 

Homeless

By Brian Powers

I got out of church and after socializing with my friends I took my fiancée to a Chinese buffet. As we left a man walked up to us, obviously down on his luck, and asked if we had a couple of dollars to spare so he could get some soup. I had four 20 dollar bills in my wallet that I had intended to put in the offering basket for my tithes, and also had my debit card on me with plenty of money in the bank. So as often happens, I told the man, “No, sorry. I have no cash on me.” I drove away feeling a little guilty about telling him I had no cash but the cash was for God right?

Here is my mistake: I got so wrapped up in the obedience factor of tithing that I was using tithing to get me out of helping a person in need. I don’t know the man’s situation; whether he had a house or whether he actually wanted to use money for food. But one thing I know for sure is that I failed to represent Jesus as a member of his body. I also missed the chance to buy the man lunch with my debit card, and I could have sat down and talked with him for as long as he wanted because my fiancée was going to her cousins birthday lunch. 

By saying to the man that I had no cash, I am convinced that God heard me say something different. First is that I told the man that I didn’t think he was worth a couple dollars to get food. I told him that I judged him for needing to ask for money and that I won’t help someone who obviously made mistakes in his life to get to where he was now. I didn’t look at it that way but does that man know? God knows the implications behind what I said. Second thing I told the man is that Jesus dying on the cross is also not worth a couple dollars. Here is my rationalization for that statement: Jesus died on the cross for our SINS. Lying is a sin, and Jesus tells us in Matthew 25:31-46 that when we ignore the needy, we ignore him. So in lying to the man and not helping him out, I took for granted what Jesus did for me, and selfishly hoarded it and refused to share it with someone who needed it. 

As I drove away God grabbed hold of my heart and showed me my mistake. He showed me that it is common for us to not give money to beggars; choosing rather to mumble a ten word prayer as we walk away, never to think about that needy person again. So I wanted to change things. I wanted to become the Christian that does something outrageous and gets to see God move in an amazing way. I was a ten minute drive away from where I started when I turned the car around. I pulled out my wallet and prepared to give the man the full eighty dollars I had in my wallet. I planned to explain to him my thought process and to ask his forgiveness. And I hoped I would get an opportunity to share Jesus with the man. I pulled into the parking lot and the man was gone. Someday I fear God will ask me why He is missing a son in heaven. 

How often do we look at all of the ramifications for us neglecting the commands of Jesus? I have been able to work through the guilt and have received God’s forgiveness. And now I have an intense desire to walk in the Spirit ALWAYS so that I never again miss an opportunity to witness to someone. A little bit of selfishness and pride will go a long way in this world. A little bit of giving and humility in love will go further and lasts eternally.

Saving Yourself

By Scott Wetzel
 

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  John 15:8 (NIV)

If you are a Christian, I have one question for you:  Why?

I know this probably sounds like a stupid question but chew on it for a bit.  See what your answer is.  I vaguely remember asking Jesus “into my heart”.  I was four years old (certainly not old enough to understand the meaning of discipleship) and I was scared of Hell.  I didn’t want to go there because I knew it was a bad place and fire was involved somehow.

So I lived my life doing everything I could to let people know that I wasn’t going to Hell.  I went to church, Sunday school and youth group.  I wore cross necklaces and t-shirts designed to look like Gold’s Gym and Malcolm X, but really were not so subtle attempts to wear my faith.  My activities and wardrobe were specifically designed to deflect my soul from Hell.  My whole Christian walk was actually just trying like heck not to go to Hell.  I used all of my spiritual energy on myself.

So we know that being a Christian means that we are Christ followers, but do we really understand what being a Christ follower means?  Being a follower means we desire a relationship.  We get to know the very core of who Jesus is.  We hear him and talk to Him.  We eat with Him and begin to invest our lives into His goals.  In this, we take on the nature of Him.  It’s like any other relationship we have, where we begin to talk and behave like the people we spend the most time with. 

Jesus wasn’t trying to save Himself from Hell.

In fact; Jesus, a perfect man, died with a body filled with the weight of all of our sins in order to save everyone ELSE from Hell.   Jesus lived His life to serve others, even those He didn’t know.  I feel like the term “personal relationship with Christ” needs to be nixed from every church service in the world.  It’s making our relationships with Christ seem like something we hold on to, when in reality we need to give it away.  It has this feeling of hiding, when it should have a feeling of proclaiming.  We should be introducing our friend Jesus to anyone and let Him begin to touch their hearts.  But it seems like we hold on to Him like He’s our possession, talk about Him like He’s not really here, pull out 5 points to a get out of Hell free card, and then tuck Him away into our private devotional time or structured church services. 

So that brings up the question once again:  why are you a Christian?

The more and more I read the words of Jesus, the more and more I realize that it’s not just about my salvation.  The more and more I seek Jesus the more I realize that Jesus isn’t just my Holy Cash Machine.  The more and more I talk to Jesus, the more He tells me that if it’s all about me then it’s not about Him.  If I’m a Christian to avoid Hell, I’ve missed the point of Christ.

The point of Christ is to advance the Kingdom of God.

Like David

by Scott Wetzel

“That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2^nd Cor 12:10 (NIV)

  

In 1464, an artist named Agostino di Duccio was commissioned to create a statue of David from a chunk of marble over 17ft tall and weighing over 6 tons.  The man (under the supervision of Donatello) began to work on it but after 2 years gave up.  He had a vision but the rock was too large and cumbersome to work with.  His vision was not working with the size of the rock.

The marble lay in storage for many years.

Then an artist named Antonio Rossellino decided that he could do it.  He began to carve and chisel away at the chunk but only worked for a couple of months.  The years in storage had begun to deteriorate the marble.  The stone had many defects and the original tool marks left by di Duccio had created even more flaws.  Those flaws made it nearly impossible for an artist to really do anything with this.  His vision was not working with the imperfect nature of the rock.

So a marred, damaged and unformed chunk of marble sat in storage, destined to be worthless.

It was ruined by years of mishandling and broken visions.

A 26 year old unknown apprentice sculptor named Michelangelo was assigned to make this junk rock into something.  Michelangelo decided to make the statue into what it should be and not what an artist wanted it to be.  He saw the flaws and blemishes and scars left by the abandoning artists of its past and began to use those to the strength of the statue.  Instead of working around these weak points, he worked with these weak points.  He eventually finished: creating one of the most famous works of art of all time.

Something beautiful, strong and enduring created out of a scarred, flawed, discarded piece of stone...

Church?

By Scott Wetzel

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  Heb 10:25 (NIV)

One of the greatest things about the small church I spent most of my formative years in was the potluck.  I loved potlucks not just because I ate a lot (which I did) or because of vast choices of food (which there was).  I loved potlucks because it gave me a chance to hang out with people in the church.  We’d eat and talk and talk and eat and share stories and run around and just have fun.  It was spending time with friends.  It was the Church.

Church isn’t about the teaching.  Yeah, I know, we go to church and listen to a sermon.  Some of us show up late because there is singing and we don’t have good singing voices or it’s too loud or it’s too quiet so it’s not for us.  Some of us jet out as soon as the service is done because we’ve got places to be or games to watch.  Some of us leave towards the end of service because communion is coming and though it SEEMS important, we don’t really understand its importance so we’d rather not spend the time in liturgy when we could be beating the church crowd at Claim Jumpers.  But really, if you go to church for the teaching, you are severely missing out. 

While teaching is important, the author of Hebrews implores us to not give up on meeting together NOT because we might miss out on some really important information.  He says to meet together to encourage one another.  It’s really hard to encourage one another when we show up late and leave early.  It’s really hard to encourage one another when we don’t come on a regular basis because we’ve figured out who is leading worship on what Sunday.  It’s really hard to encourage one another when we put on our happy church face the minute we get to the doors and never admit that we are broken people that need Jesus.

Church is ultimately not about getting fed.  If it is, then you are poorly nourished.  You need to learn how to feed yourself and how to help feed each other.   Read the Word, rely on God, and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit on a regular basis at home.   Church isn’t a school; it’s a community that needs to thrive with relationships, iron sharpening iron in order to persevere in a world that hates righteousness and justice.  The four walls are a great place to build that endurance.  We learn about each other, our struggles and failings, our giftings and rewards.  As we open ourselves up to this we begin to be accountable in so many different ways.  We receive accountability not only in our spiritual walk, but also in our relationships with one another.   The unity created in those relationships begins an amazing communal worship time.  It’s people singing with one voice in a beautiful chorus to the living God (no matter how off key or off rhythm YOU think you are).

It’s when we show up and show up early we can then begin to breathe life into the Sunday morning service.  That’s how we get to know each other.  That’s how we can begin to trust each other.  That’s how we can begin to open up to each other.  It’s when we realize that we are broken people that are only put back together by the blood of Jesus that we can truly accept anyone into our community.  It’s when the lost see that we aren’t perfect but we are redeemed that they will begin to wonder and ask questions.  It’s the breaking of bread and the trading of stories that is a catalyst for that momentum. 

I think we need a potluck.

Idealism vs. Realism

By Scott Wetzel

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”  John 14:12 (NIV)

One of the on going battles in the world we live in is the idealists vs. realists.  Sometimes it’s a political battle that results in name calling (socialists vs. capitalists, entitled vs. hard working), sometimes it’s a physical battle, but ultimately it’s a spiritual battle.

I’m battling that right now.

My wife and I were speaking to a pastor friend of ours and he sparked some inner turmoil.  We were talking about church planting and the subject of artsy churches vs. linear churches came up.  Obviously, it struck a chord with me.  You’d know that if you read my blog last week.  It’s still striking a chord with me.  But it’s becoming more and more personal. 

I’ve noticed something in American Christianity that is a bit frightening to me.  We’ve pared down the Holy Spirit and made Him be something that’s personal.  Now, I’m not saying the Holy Spirit isn’t a personal entity.  What I am saying is the Holy Spirit isn’t JUST there for us.  He’s there to alter the reality of the world.  Whenever that aspect of the Holy Spirit gets talked about, though, I notice people trailing off and squirming uncomfortably.  We are a little scared of the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us.  We like to be filled with the Holy Spirit but don’t overflow or people will see.  We do the same thing with love a lot of the time.

Jesus didn’t die, rise and ascend just to show the power of God.  He did this so He could be a personal advocate for us to the Father.  When we pray in His name, for His glory, He will champion our cause.  We don’t need a priest anymore; we just need our friend, Jesus.   But that’s not all.  He sent His Holy Spirit to not just be our personal guide so we can make realistic decisions that will make us into good little middle class citizens.  He sent His Holy Spirit so we can be the hands and feet of Jesus.  That means that we’ll probably have to make some pretty uncomfortable decisions.

I’m there right now.  I don’t like making uncomfortable decisions.  In fact, I don’t know what the right decision is.  So I’m waiting for a minute.  But in the back of my mind I keep asking what I would do if I were ACTUALLY the hands and feet of Jesus.  I honestly don’t like the answer.  I’m not sure if that’s a denial of what God wants.  I’m not sure if the cynicism of American Christianity has caught up with me and I’m basing my decisions on realism and not on idealism. 

I’m pretty sure God really wants us to be idealists.  He set up His creation to be ideal.   We were created to know good and not evil.  The realists in the garden ruined that one by deciding they should tow the line.  He wanted us to be idealists on the road to the Promise Land but, again, the realists ruined that one.  He wanted us to be idealists when His Son came to earth but, one more time, the realists ruined it.  Are we doing that again?  If we are, are we ruining God’s plan for this earth?  Did Jesus pray “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” as a metaphor, or did He really intend for us to bring the ideal to this world?

Obviously these are all rhetorical questions.   In the end I can only come to this conclusion:  Idealism is what God desires and realism is what the enemy convinces us to accept.

The Linear Chosen

By Scott Wetzel

 “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Is. 43:19 (NIV)

  

It seems like the world as a whole has taken the lazy way out when it comes to art.  Hollywood remakes old movies.  Pop music isn’t any different today than it was 20 years ago.  Country music isn’t any different today than pop music was 20 years ago. Thomas Kincaid is still painting the same shack with the same sunset.  Even the styles we dress in are rehashed from eras gone by.  There is a crisis of creativity.

And I haven’t helped much with that.  I’m afraid to break out of the mold.  Maybe it’s my upbringing or maybe it’s peer pressure, but I don’t like to stray too far from path.  People that are only acquainted with me might balk at this next statement, but extending my creative wings is scary and painful. 

To me, the scariest place on earth to be outside of the box is in church.  In fact, some of the loudest complaining I’ve ever heard is in the church.  It’s a rare occasion that I’ve been to a club to see a concert and someone complains about how loud the music is.  Or been to a conference where there is a speaker and people complain that they didn’t get fed in the way they thought they should.  People go to those places for a reason…it’s to extract an energy that they don’t get from listening to a record or reading a book.

We go to worship services for the same reason.  We are there to experience God in a different way.  In a communal way.  We fellowship with other believers, worship with the Body of Christ, and hear the Word of God in a new light.  But if it’s a bit different than last week, we get upset and begin to shore up the purse strings or look for a different church home.

It’s as though the system has been set up for the Linear Chosen.

Now we’re in a pickle, though, because we’ve decided to settle.  We’ll stifle our creativity within the confines of the church in order to keep satisfied those that aren’t willing to reach outside of the box.  In the process we’ve lost all of the artists to the enemy.  We’ve alienated creative thinkers.  The church of the left brain is in session while the church of the right brain is struggling. 

Don’t we serve a God of the whole brain?  Doesn’t God love linear thinkers as much as He loves creative thinkers, and vice versa?  I believe that God created everyone to worship Him in unity, not because all of our brain processes work the same, but because He is the common denominator.  Can’t we have liturgy AND creative thinking?  That’s what God does.  He’s the same yesterday, today and forever, all the while He’s creating and molding and shaping.  Let’s let the church be an image of God.  

From Death to Life

By Scott Wetzel

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom 8:28 (NKJV)

Little Rachel Beckwith decided that she didn’t want presents for her 9^th birthday.  She had heard about an organization called “charity: water” and wanted to have her friends and relatives donate to that cause instead.  Charity: water is a non profit that builds wells for those that don’t have water in the drought stricken countries of Africa.  Access to clean water is a huge issue that we all take for granted in this country.  In other countries, however, water is scarce and disease is spread through dirty watering holes.  Rachel’s goal was to reach $300. 

She had raised $220 by July 20^th, when the car she was riding in was involved in a 13 car pileup on I-90.  The rest of her family escaped with minor injuries but Rachel was critically injured.  On July 23^rd, her family decided to remove the life support and Rachel passed away.  This story could have ended there…but God has bigger plans than anyone could ever imagine.  You see, Rachel wanted to do something for the world, not so she looked good, but because she loved God and saw people through His compassionate lens.

That Sunday, the pastor of their church announced that they would reopen her donation page for charity: water.  A few thousand dollars were donated.  Then the local media picked up on it.  Then the national media picked up on it.  A little girl’s wish to make $300 to provide clean drinking water for people in Africa has brought in over $1.25 MILLION as of this week.  Not only that, but her organs were donated and a man in California has a new lease on life because he received her kidney.  He has said that he will continue to take up the cause of charity: water in her memory.

It’s the ripple effect.  I’m not saying God took the life of this sweet child.  I don’t believe that God kills children to create change.  This world, however, is dark and things happen that we can’t explain.  Life is filled with changes and tragedies that God didn’t initially intend.  The human mistakes caused by a flawed nature created a ripple effect that led to the death of one person in a 13 car pile up.  That one person was a 9 year old girl that had a zeal for life and love for people she didn’t even know.  Her loss of life will lead to thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people having a chance to live.  Her selflessness in life will create an eternal consequence.  Her short time on Earth has advanced the kingdom of God immeasurably.  We create ripples in everything we do.  Those ripples can either end in death or bring life.  When we love God, do the will of the Father, and strive to be like Jesus, all things will work for good.

I don’t know about you, but I’m convicted by this.

Afraid

By Scott Wetzel

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  1 John 4:18 (NIV)

I woke up a little confused in a Dodge Neon next to a broken down Ford Econoline van in Plankinton, SD.  We had left from Sioux Falls the night before and this was the second issue we’d had in the 98 miles we’d traveled.  The first was right outside of Mitchell, SD, when our van caught on fire.  It had already been an eventful trip.

The evening before, right as we were leaving, I’d let the other guys on the trip know that I wasn’t sure I believed in God anymore.  I was definitely through going out of my way to follow Him.  He wasn’t all that real to me and I was convinced He may have never been.  So, after some rough apologetics from my two moving companions, we agreed to disagree and started our two vehicle parade towards sunny Seattle.

Back to the muggy morning in Plankinton: the van had started to make a terrible screeching noise right as we reached the exit, so we’d pulled into what looked like a small convenience store.  When we walked around it (in the middle of the night, mind you), we found that there was a mechanic attached to it.  We decided that’s where we’d camp out and that’s why I woke up in a Dodge Neon next to a broken down Econoline. 

The convenience store was open, but the mechanic didn’t appear to have arrived yet, so we walked in and inquired about when he’d show up.  The lady looked up from a black and white TV and said he’d be in around 10.  Then she said some words I’ll never forget:

“Someone is blowing up New York”

She pointed to the small screen and we saw what appeared to be the World Trade Centers on fire.  It was surreal...but we were certain it wouldn’t affect us.  We were heading to the opposite side of the United States.  We were starting new lives.  I was leaving behind the teaching of my youth and emerging as something different.  I guess I didn’t realize it but so was the rest of America.

The day before my faith had finally crashed to the ground.  My life then had the possibility of either producing the fruits of the fear and unknown or producing the fruits of freedom brought by true Love.  I feel like America had the same possibility the next day.

That day was a turning point for this country.  It started out as confusion, turned to compassion, then anger.  Now it’s hoarding.  I guess all of these were based on initial fear, right?  I mean, every one of the feelings that have happened, cultivated, grown and blossomed since 9/11 are all based on fear.  We’ve never really moved out of fear mode.  We helped each other right afterwards because we were afraid of what could happen if we didn’t.  We were angry and attacked people of other cultures and religions because we were afraid of what would happen if we didn’t.  At this point, we’re so afraid of people taking our hard earned money and possessions that we’re hording it all.  We’ve become pockets of single entities and, somehow, are still clinging to the word “community”.   The Word of God tells us that when there is Love there is no fear, because perfect Love drives out fear.  My hope for you and me is that we can allow perfect Love to drive out the fear of death, the economy and politics in each and every one of us.  My prayer is that this September 11 we can finally rise above the mixed feelings caused by evil in the world and allow God’s Love to conquer.

Dropping Politics

By Scott Wetzel

“He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage." Mat 20:24-28 (The Message)

Is our country going to Hell because of our leadership?  Is our economy going down the tubes because of a lack of Christian political involvement?  Do we need to have strong Christian influence in the government in order for our nation’s eyes to turn back to God?

Here’s the big question:  Did Jesus come to change things from the top down or from the bottom up?

You’ll notice something really interesting about Jesus.  He had every opportunity to influence the politicians, rulers and political heavies of the day.  He could have lunched with kings.  He could have had fund raising dinners with princes.  He could have won elections by landslides.  All He would have needed to do was pull rank.

But He didn’t do that.

He became friends with hookers, drunks, tax collectors and blue collar workers.

Interestingly enough, He did everything He could to NOT gain political clout.  He told people not to tell of His miracles.  He spoke in cloudy metaphors.  When He was at the most popular, He stopped feeding the crowds.  He gave people what they needed, not what they thought they needed.    He wasn’t helping pad people’s retirement funds; He was getting them JUST enough to get through that day. 

We’ve put so much power into the hands of our politicians that we’ve allowed it to define our faith.  Whether it’s about abortion, social justice, marriage, economics or anything else, we’ve professed our faith with our voting ballots.  Here’s the truth of the matter:  our problems won’t and can’t be solved by people in powerful places.  It starts in the hearts of His followers.  It spreads from us via compassion and servitude to those around us.  The Kingdom of God is not going to come to Earth because of legislation.  It’s going to come to Earth because of His power.  We can try to legislate God’s will into the people of this nation, but all that will cause is animosity.  It can only happen through the weakness of His people.

Revival doesn’t start by electing Christians into positions of power.  It’s never worked that way.  Whenever Christians get the power we ruin it.  There is a reason for that.  God doesn’t want US to have the power and the glory.  He’s the only one that deserves it.  That doesn’t mean Christians shouldn’t run for office…it means we need to stop depending on them and start responding to God.

Over Served

By Scott Wetzel

"If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  John 14:15 (NIV)

Recently a young man approached me and told me he was burned out on God.  He said that between finding time to do daily devotions, going to church and different service projects FOR the church, he was tired.  He was working more than 40 hours a week as well.  God didn’t provide him with the freedom he’d read about in the Bible and heard about in church.  It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in God, it’s just that God needed to take the back seat for awhile.

I couldn’t blame him.  He was doing a lot of stuff and a lot of it was church centered.  So why was he burned out?  There is supposed to be freedom in Jesus, not burnout.

I have a theory.  Our human nature is to work for things.  It makes sense because we work for paychecks, benefits, and bonuses.  But God’s gift of grace is free.  Think about that for a second and let it sink in.  The gift of grace is FREE.  All we have to do is show up at the foot of the cross.  It’s hard to fathom but when we show up at the foot of the cross (like REALLY show up at the foot of the cross), we realize how much God loves us.  He loves us enough to send His son, Jesus, to be murdered so we could live in eternity.   We are blind to His sacrifice until we sit at the foot of the cross and see it for ourselves.   Before the death of Christ, sins had to be atoned for by us sacrificing.  However, now we aren’t forced to sacrifice anything.  When we realize exactly how much God loves us, it’s hard not to give that back.  If my wife buys me a thoughtful gift, my natural instinct is give back to her.  I’ll clean something or cook a nice meal for her.  I want to give back because I realize how much she loves me.  Now make that realization God sized.

So our real reason for burnout is not because God requires too much of us.  It’s because we don’t realize how much God loves us.  We say we love Jesus and God is good but in our hearts we’ve never allowed the Love of God to flow freely.  Our good works shouldn’t be a way to labor into the kingdom.  If we do it for any other reason than as a love gift to our Creator and Redeemer, then we are doing it for the wrong reason.

If we are living in sin or we have guilt from the past, our nature is to run towards discipline.  We should be running to Jesus.  He’s where we find the strength and passion to live in the discipline that He so desires we have.   If our servitude and discipline are not authentic responses to the Love of God, we will burn out.

Seek God.  Find His Love.  Accept His Grace.  Reciprocate.

The Dead Light Bulb

By Scott Wetzel

No light bulb can exert more energy than they were intended for without burning out before their lifespan.  And what good is a dead light bulb?  

This is my advice…be careful how you split your time.  Your light shines much brighter when it’s focused where God wants it.  If you don’t know where God wants it, wait.  Don’t burn all of your energy trying to light up a place that’s meant for someone else.

Good Morning, Today

By Scott Wetzel

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lam 3:22-23 (ESV)

Good morning, Today.  Yesterday you were Today, but that was yesterday.  Tomorrow you will be Today, but that will be tomorrow.  So today, you will be my Today.

I’m sorry for the way I’ve focused on Yesterday as if it were Today.  That was then and this is now.  I know I need to confront the mistakes I made then.  I’ll ask for forgiveness and work through any relationships I’ve hurt.  I’ll make right what I can and let go of what I can’t.  I’ll let go of any offenses I’ve held on to from Yesterday.  Because of what God has done for me, I need to let yesterday be Yesterday.

Tomorrow, I’ve done you no great service by giving you more attention than you deserve.  I’ve worried about you and, in turn, I’ve tried to control you.  Somehow, you’ve got more power over me than Today…the time at hand.  I don’t know what you’ll bring me, Tomorrow.  Frankly, I shouldn’t really care.  For God has given me Today and Today has enough anxiety and blessings for me to handle.  In fact, Tomorrow only has anxiety at this point…so I’ll let Today have it’s day in the sun.  I woke up today and realized that today is Today.  So, Tomorrow, you’ll get your chance.

So Today, you are mine.  God has given you to me as a fresh start.  There will be a new adventure to run with.  I’ll be the best steward I can to you.   I won’t lament Yesterday and I won’t be anxious about Tomorrow.  I’ll focus on you and you only.  I know God will provide what I need to do as He needs me to do.  I may not have Tomorrow so I’ll make sure  I don’t put it off.

Good morning, Today.  I’m ready to begin.

Rocket Ships

by Scott Wetzel

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV)

I was listening to Doug Bursch the other day and he said something rather profound..  It was actually rather convicting and challenging and many of you know how I hate to be convicted and challenged.  Though it’s good for me, the feeling of stretching and changing is rarely peaceful in the beginning.  He said (and I paraphrase) we sin a thousand times a day and we don’t even know it.  Sometimes we even sin and claim that we are doing what God wants, but when we really dig in, we realize that it’s cultural and not scriptural.

We have a Christian culture that’s based on politics, finance and patriotism.  All those things can be used for good, but the CULTURE has taken those things and put them above the SCRIPTURE.  I know, I know this is something that I’ve talked about before and you probably think I’m some hippie Liberal that’s out to destroy the Conservative Evangelical movement.

You probably also don’t know me very well.

These things that I write are very difficult to put down on paper (er, monitor).  They go against the very core of my nature/upbringing.  I’ve worshiped at the alter of corporate consumerism for years.  I’m afraid some of you might even get the wrong impression of who I am in Christ, since this might go against the American church culture.  However, it’s completely okay to be countercultural when that culture is contrary to the word of God.  Sometimes the American church is all about God, country, money and in no particular order.  We cross our spiritual wires and think that as long as God is in there somewhere, we’re good.  So here it goes.  We’re going to talk about finances and it probably won’t be the last time.

I’ve been asked to lead the ministry part of our Sunday morning worship service many times.  I honestly really love doing that.   I love praying with people.  I love listening to the Holy Spirit as He intercedes with words I couldn’t have said on my own.  I love hearing people put aside their pride in order to allow God to do as God will do.  The Holy Spirit has been very faithful to provide me with sermonettes that speak to at least one person in the congregation.  Ministry time is always about healing in our church.  It can be healing for physical things, relational things, spiritual things or financial things.  I always mention financial things.  I never DON’T mention financial things.  I always feel a little weird about mentioning it, though.  I don’t have issues praying that someone might have shelter or a job or provisions, but I’m always afraid that someone will ask for prayer for superficial things.  I don’t know how Jesus feels about praying about 401k’s or our overpriced home.  I don’t know if Jesus WANTS us to pray about those things.

Nice things are great to have (and I believe God loves His children enough that He’ll give us treats sometimes), but Jesus didn’t teach us to pray about stock futures.  He taught us to pray about our daily provisions.  He wasn’t concerned about where He would lay his head or whether He could retire comfortably.  He was concerned about whether or not our hearts were fully engaged in the eternity that the Father has for us.  Much of the financial teaching in the Bible isn’t really about money at all.  It’s about where we put our faith, hope and love.

Most of us in this great nation have created a cult out of spirituality and finances.  We build a broken rocket ship model; wishing that the thing WE built is real, successful and will rise above everything we can see in order to save us.  Ultimately, though, it will be an earth shaking disappointment when it won’t fly or it crashes to the ground in a fiery mess.  Then we turn around and blame God, citing the Bible and telling Him that if we follow Him, He’s supposed to make us successful.

The thing we haven’t realized is that it’s not real.  It’s something we created.  The Word of God clearly tells us that.  If it were the real thing it would have been bigger and it would have been fulfilling.   We may not have had the excitement of building it with our own hands, but we have the excitement of being a part of something eternally successful.

Maybe the problem is that we define success differently than God does.

Letting Go

By Scott Wetzel

“‘Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?’
‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.
He said to them, ‘Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s’.” Luke 20:24-25 (NIV)

My wife and I have a baby daughter.  I know she’s ours.  She has my eyes and my wife’s mouth.  She does things that remind me of me sometimes and other times she reminds me of my better half.  When people look at her, we never know if they are going to say she looks like me or if she looks like my wife.

But it’s obvious she’s ours.

She doesn’t look like anyone else in the world but us right now.

She HAS to be ours, right?

The sad fact I’m trying to deal with right now is that she’s not ours.  She’s on loan for a time.  Eventually we have to give her up.  Eventually she’ll leave us and be lent to someone else for awhile.  We might have influence, but we will no longer have control.  God will have a whole different role for us.

I love how Jesus responds to the Pharisees when talking about taxes.  It’s strange and distant.  It’s almost as if He’s not talking about taxes.  And I’m camping on the idea that He’s not.  They ask Him what we need to pay and He shows them a coin engrained with the image of a leader.  The person that runs the country is etched into the coin so it’s unmistakable where that coin eventually needs to go.

Our daughter might look like my wife and me, but ultimately she’s made in the image of God.  She’s stamped with His likeness before ours.   There is a part of me that’s sad about that but it also puts a greater responsibility on us to make sure she’s taken care of.  I have to begin to realize that God doesn’t give us our children or significant others.  He lends them to us.  We have to be willing to say “God, I’ll take care of this for You for as long as You would have me do it.”  When His image is stamped on it, it’s His.

Eventually we have to let go.

Stop Falling In Love

By Scott Wetzel

"(Love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor 13:7

I’m at the age where I begin to see a lot of divorce in my age group, whether it be believers or unbelievers.  It’s all over the place in the friends that I have.  Almost every time it’s because of infidelity.  There are not a lot of things more shocking than a friend admitting to you that they had an affair, especially when it’s a person you thought had more integrity than that.

The most shocking part of it all is that they generally make the same rationalization, “I just fell out of love.”  It probably SHOULDN’T be shocking to me, honestly.  Our everyday conversations are filled with the term “falling in love”.  If we can fall in love, why can’t we go deeper and fall out of love with that person and in love with another?  Falling is unintentional.   To most people, love is an unintentional, random feeling.  It is the increased heart rate, serotonin, libido that makes you want to be around that special someone.   When that feeling is gone, obviously the love has left, right?

We’ve reduced love down to a simple emotion.  Love is no longer an eternal gift to be given, but a fleeting tingle in our hearts (or loins) that makes all of our selfish desires turn to reality.  Once those selfish desires are fulfilled we move on to the next selfish desire and the next and the next and the next.  If our significant other can’t provide for our selfish desires, we begin to search for someone who can.

There will NEVER be a person that can fulfill all of your selfish desires.

YOU can’t even fulfill all of your selfish desires.

True love was defined by Jesus in John 15:13 when He told us that there is no greater love than a person sacrificing their life for another.  That’s a big revelation after hearing about self preservation for multiple generations.  Real love isn’t about self preservation at all.  In fact, it’s about self cessation.  We no longer focus internally, but instead we focus externally in order to better the one we love.  We end our lives in order to extend the life of another.  When we marry, we should essentially be saying, “my life doesn’t matter any more, but yours does.”   When that’s reciprocated, the result is a singular entity rather than two opposing forces trying to work together.

We’ve lost that in marriage.  We’ll go on mission trips, feed the poor locally, serve the church, but reduce our marriages to “falling in love”.  Yes, it’s just a phrase, but it’s a destructive phrase.  It’s silly to think that a quick stumble into a relationship would be eternal.  All things of great eternal consequence need to be worked at, refined and ultimately, sacrificial.  If Jesus relates the church to our marriages (or at least the way our marriages should be), it completely changes the dynamic of love, doesn’t it?

Real love is not about falling.  It’s about rising.

In Spite Of:

By Scott Wetzel

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy” Jude 1:24  (NIV)

Jesus loves you in spite of:

•  Short Attention Spans

•  Sexual Addiction

•  Substance Abuse

•  Selfish Attitudes

•  Little White Lies

•  Big Black Lies

•  Idolatry

•  Speeding

•  Anger

•  Control Issues

•  Agendas

•  Political Affiliations

•  Uncompassionate Hearts

•  Murder

•  Unwillingness to Change

•  Legalism

•  Rebellion

•  Apathy

•  Immorality

•  Broken Families

•  Hateful Speech

•  Hateful Attitudes

•  Hateful Actions

•  Every Sin we’ve Ever Done, Big or Little.

If you can accept that, you are on the road to loving Him back.  Loving Him back begins a natural progression into righteousness.  If you love Him, you’ll keep His commandments.  There is real joy in real love and real love involves submission as well as reception.

Love is a choice.  Jesus chooses to love us.  Will you choose to love Him?

Bullet Points For Christian Living

By Scott Wetzel

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”  Joshua 1:8 (NIV)

I bought a small truck a few years ago so I can do manly things like haul wood and gravel.  After I had it for a few weeks I needed to do some upkeep on it, so I went to the glove compartment to grab the owner’s manual.  I was surprised to find that it wasn’t there.  I bought the truck without a manual.  The owner’s manual was so unimportant to me that I didn’t even think to look.  So I went into the house and looked up what I needed online.  Now anytime I need to fix something, I just head to the computer and look it up first.  There are how-to tutorials everywhere online.  I can make any minor repair without ever looking at the owner’s manual. 

My wife’s car has the owner’s manual.  I look in it every once in awhile.  But I’ve never sat and read it.  I’ve never pondered it.  I’ve never memorized parts of it.  In fact, the only time I open it up is if there is some sort of trouble with the car or I need to know how to fix something.  And then I have to kind of stare at pictures until I get it figured out. 

I’ve heard the Word of God being referred to as an “owner’s manual”.  I used to think that was clever.  Now I think it’s shallow.  I don’t mean to be rude, but calling the Bible an “owner’s manual” reduces it to list of fix-its and a way to diagnose trouble.  I don’t believe that’s what it is.  Yes, there is comfort.  Yes, there are commandments intended to keep our lives pure.  Yes, it teaches us the way to eternity.  But it’s so much more than that.  It’s an entire story.  It’s poetry.  It’s art.  It has morality and warnings and hope.  If our faith becomes a series of bullet points to righteousness we miss all the stuff in between.  I can read the rules and follow the rules, but I’m not going to study the rules that I don’t get until I understand it.  When was the last time you spent a week on a Bible verse you didn’t understand?  The Scriptures teach us to meditate on it.  Chew on it.  Digest it.  Don’t let it get away.  It’s in there, so it’s important.  Don’t use ellipses to get past the hard parts.  Stay on it so you don’t miss the point. 

I get really good about picking and choosing what I’m going to read; finding out what the Bible says about whatever I’m dealing with.  That’s okay to a point but if I don’t go beyond that, I begin to think the Earth revolves around me.   I miss the challenges and corrections and only use it to endorse my decisions.  It’s wrong to scan through verses just to get to the “good stuff” like heaven.  That’s why the path to eternity isn’t laid out in any particular order.  It’s because our faith is a journey and the Bible isn’t the map; it’s the path.